CORVALLIS, Ore. – Joshua Smith was calm when he walked to the free-throw line with the game hanging in the balance.

Smith, a 55.6-percent foul shooter, made four straight shots from the line in the final 2:24 to help UCLA to a 62-57 win against Oregon State on Thursday night.

“There should be no pressure at all,” said Smith, a 6-foot-10 freshman center, who was a combined 5 of 14 on freethrows in his previous fourgames. “I just went up there, had my regular routine and made them.”

Smith helped his team avoid disaster, as UCLA blew a 17-point second-half lead.

Lazeric Jones and Reeves Nelson had 13 points each for the Bruins (10-6, 2-2 Pac-10), who led 47-30 after Nelson’s basket with 15:57 remaining.

Roberto Nelson had 13 points off the bench for Oregon State (7-9, 2-3). His 3-pointer gave the Beavers their only lead at 57-55 with 2:44 to play. UCLA scored the game’s final seven points.

Bruins coach Ben Howland joked with his team afterward, saying that whenever it’s a close game, Smith needs to get the ball so he can get fouled and make free throws.

“That was phenomenal. He stepped up and knocked down four huge free throws,” Howland said of Smith, who finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. “He did a great job for us down the stretch.

“He’s been working on it. He’s getting better at it, and he showed great focus and concentration on those free throws.”

Smith made the score 57-57 with two free throws, and Jones hit the go-ahead basket for UCLA with 39 seconds left.

Jones, who suffered a ruptured tendon in the middle finger of his right hand in a Dec. 31 loss to Washington, was 0 for 10 shooting in the two games prior to Thursday.

Oregon State’s Calvin Haynes (Taft) missed a close shot, and Smith grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He made both free throws with 16 seconds left to put the Bruins ahead 61-57.

Added Smith: “We knew it was still our game. We just had to play hard and play defense. We played defense, they missed some shots, we got rebounds and made some free throws.”

UCLA was 23 of 47 from the field; Oregon State 20 of 62. The Bruins had a 41-34 rebounding edge.

The Beavers, whose 10.9 steals per game entering Thursday ranked second in the nation, finished with 15.

Reeves Nelson followed Tyler Honeycutt’s 3-pointer with a three-point play as the Bruins built a 43-26 cushion. Kevin McShane’s basket with 11:58 remaining capped a 10-2 Oregon State run that cut UCLA’s lead to 49-40.

After a Reeves Nelson layup, the Beavers reeled off 11 unanswered points during a five-minute stretch to tie the score. Joe Burton’s basket off a Cunningham pass finished the run, making it 51-51 with 6:22 remaining.

UCLA scored the next four points, but Oregon State came back with two 3-pointers. The second, by Roberto Nelson, gave the Beavers a brief lead.